Pet Forum / Aquaria / Freshwater / December 2003

I have a 40g. Long fresh water tank in my office.  With live plants
and a large substrate (pebble size) everything is looking quite nice.
I currently have a couple of Raphael Cats, 2 otto cats, and 7 rainbows
(3 bosami and 4 aust.)

I have built a ten gallon tank, divided into four compartments (plus a
2.5" backplane for heater and filter) following the designs shown
here:
http://www.petfish.net/tank_dividers.htm

My tank has finally cycled and all the fish appear to be doing well.
I have a 25 gallon tank with:
2 Guppies
1 Male Platy

There's something that has always puzzled me about bettas. From what I've
read, not only are they tropical fish, but they actually prefer higher water
temperatures than most tropical fish. So why are they typically kept in
room-temperature water? Is it because they're more adaptable ...

After 3 months, I finally cleaned out my Interpet external canister filter.
I rinsed the sponges in aquarium water and replaced most of the filter wool
expect for one tiny bit. I also raised the temperature a few degrees to
increase the fish's metabolism for a few days.

I have a few broken terracotta plant pots in the garden and I'd like to put
a few of the pieces in my tank as hiding places for my fish. I'm going to
boil the pieces for a few minutes to sterilise them, but I'm worried about
my fish, particularly my algae eating catfish injuring ...

We use softened water in our freshwater tanks and over time, salts/minerals
deposit on the hoods particularly on the outside rear areas (near the "hang
on the side power filters).
What is the best way to clean this residue off?

I know that new tank can be seeded with filter sponges, gravel, etc., from a
cycled tank.  What I'm not sure about is how long does it take for the new
tank to be cycled when it's been seeded by a cycled tank?

I was at a local fish store today and was told that wood shrimp eat
snails. Has anyone heard of this?
Do ghost shrimp and wood shrimp get along?

Just set up our first tank. Sand substrate at bottom, some real plants.
We've filled it and the water is cloudy. It's been like that for about 5
hours now and it *seems* to be getting better, very slowly....
Any advice on how long it shuold take to clear up and anything i can do to

I;m new here, WHat does the term 'cycle' refer to , as in the period it
takes for a new tank to cycle?
thanks,
john

Over the last few months, I have been talking with a forum  that I
contribute
to with regard to starting a  Off-shoot  section for Tropical Fish..  It is
proposed to have one section for Australian related [tank] fish subjects, be

I'm rather new to fish keeping so if this seems like a stupid and
silly question I'll apologize now... sorry!
I have recently set up a 75 gal. tank with the following fish:
3 pearl gouramis (not sexed as yet)

A while back, I noticed that my male and female albino ancistrus (maybe
a year or so old - male only grew his bristles in the last few months)
started getting friendly.  My male has been hanging out in a cave more
than usual, and today I shined a flashlight in and noticed what  I ...

Wonder if anyone can help - I'm getting desperate - and the fish are
getting very hard to see :-(
My fluviall 3 filter (big tank) broke over 3 months ago. Replaced it
with another fluviall 3 but they've changed the design. The tank got